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Poor to get child benefit top-up

LOW-INCOME families are set to get top-up child benefit payments, as part of a restructuring of the scheme.

Seamus Brennan, the social affairs minister, is proposing to boost children’s allowance for the poorest families by €400m this year.

The restructuring, which will need to be approved by Brian Cowen, the finance minister, would mean money from underused schemes would be diverted to the 60,000 children believed to be in “consistent poverty”.

The move would be the start of a wider shake-up of the scheme that would see wealthier families get smaller increases than those in poverty.

Brennan said the top-up could be followed after the next election by a temporary freeze on child allowance increases in order to make double payments to low-income families.

“We are committed to getting child benefit up to certain levels by 2007, so maybe . . . from then on, for a period, child benefit increases should be